Usually vehicles, in particular automobiles, comprise a vehicle autobody with an A-pillar and B-pillar, which protect the passenger cell from too great a deformation in the case of a side impact.
The region between the A-pillars and B-pillars is however designed relatively weakly in many vehicles. It is particularly in this region that the danger exists of a large deformation and thus a danger to vehicle occupants.
It is known from the document DE 196 33 162, to provide an instrument panel located between the A-pillars, with a reinforcement for the additional strengthening of the passenger cell. In this case, the reinforcement is a rib-structure or wave-structure which forms a support part of the instrument panel, said structure being arranged extending between the A-pillars transversely to the vehicle longitudinal direction. The region between the A-pillars is reinforced with regard to side impact due to the course of the rib structure.
The disadvantage of this solution is the fact that the vehicle autobody, although being stiffened with respect to a side impact, this stiffening however only reaches up to the region of the A-pillars (proceeding from the vehicle front side). The region of the passenger cell which lies in front of the A-pillars, in particular the region between the A-pillars and B-pillars, is stiffened only in an indirect manner by way of the reinforcement, which is why large deformations of the passenger cell are still possible in this region.
DE 10 2004 059 215 A1 discloses a front vehicle door, which is to contribute to an improved passenger protection, in particular with regard to a side impact, wherein a first force transmission element is arranged in a fixed inner in the region and at the height of an instrument panel extending in the vehicle direction, for forming a further force path from the vehicle door into the vehicle autobody, between the door inner sheet metal and the door inner trim, to which first force transmission element an adjacent second force transmission element is assigned, which is arranged within the instrument panel as well as supported on the same and/or load-supporting component of the vehicle autobody.
In the teaching disclosed in this document, one assumes a transverse beam fastened between two A-pillars. The force transmission element is supported on this transverse beam and is thus located further behind the surface of the instrument panel. This arrangement requires a very solid fastening of the element, since the force path is not straight, and the danger exists that the element buckles without transmitting the forces further to the transverse beam, in the case of a side impact.